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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728339">Turn of the Tide</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irhaboggles/pseuds/Irhaboggles'>Irhaboggles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Goosebumps - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Goosebumps - Freeform, Sequel, deep trouble, semi shipping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:20:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728339</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irhaboggles/pseuds/Irhaboggles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They would have to believe him now, wouldn't they? The sea monster was back and it was staring Billy dead in the eye. But just like the first time, something turns the tide and Billy finds himself looking into the eyes of his savior once again...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Turn of the Tide</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They would have to believe him now, wouldn't they? Billy was literally frozen in fear, suspended in the water and capable only of looking into the one giant eye staring right back at him. 12 tentacles wriggled and writhed through the murky water towards the paralyzed boy. The second the first tentacle managed to brush his skin, though, it jolted him to life and he began to thrash like mad. Screams muffled by the waves, Billy fought his hardest to get away. That one little touch restored his ability to move… and panic. But for all of Billy's best efforts, it was dismally clear that he was facing off against a vastly superior opponent.</p><p>The creature even began toying with him like a cat and a mouse, as if to rub it in Billy's face that he was the inferior creature. The monster would allow Billy to swim several feet away before quickly shooting after him, grabbing at his legs in a sadistically playful manner. It was all intimidation, but it worked. Billy could only continue to flail helplessly as a part of his mind began to realize just how hopeless his situation was. No matter how hard he fought, no matter how far he got, the monster only ever needed one little tentacle to catch up. This was something both boy and beast were painfully aware of, but the beast was using it for pleasure while it terrified Billy.</p><p><em>How could it have come to this?! </em>Billy despaired. <em>I saved a mermaid and stopped what would have otherwise been a kidnapping and enslavement! All that adventure, all that triumph! How could it end now? And like this? </em>Life could certainly change in the blink of an eye, like the turn of a tide. This was something Billy was being reminded of in quite a horrific manner. But just as life could take a sharp turn down, it could also take a sharp turn up, and no sooner had Billy thought this than did he get to experience another turn of the tide, this time for the better.</p><p>First, he felt something grab his arm, but it did not feel like a tentacle. Instead, it felt like a hand. Second, he felt the tentacles dragging at his legs suddenly falling away. Third, he felt himself being pulled upward. Towards the surface! Towards air! Even in his haze of panic, Billy was coherent enough to understand this and he went limp at once, allowing the hand to guide him up. Fourth, he was aware of an increased thrashing behind him, but he could intuitively tell that it was not because the sea monster was chasing him, but rather, that it was trying to fend off attackers.</p><p>Saved! He was being saved! Billy Deep was being saved once again from the sea monster! It was quite a stroke of luck! A real turn on the tide! But perhaps the luckiest turn of the tide came when Billy just realized just who it was that had come to save him.</p><p>"You!" he gasped the second his head broke the surface. Inches away from his face was another familiar once, scaly but friendly. It was the mermaid, the very one he had saved not too long ago! The very same one he'd tried to come to visit one last time before running into the monster. Now, she was here, and Billy became breathless with excitement and relief that she was back after all.</p><p>"You know, we really need to stop meeting like this," he managed to joke and her face, which had previously looked concerned, contorted into what Billy knew to be a smile. His own smile grew and, for a second, he forgot all about the monster. All that existed now was him and her.</p><p><em>Reeeeaaahhh! </em>It was the strange, hissing roar of the monster that recaptured Billy's attention and his head whipped around.</p><p>"Woah!" he shrieked, but he felt the mermaid squeeze his arm again, a sign of comfort. He whipped around to look at her again and she was pointing back to the monster. No, not the monster, but all the things swarming around it. What Billy had first mistaken simply for the turn of the tide was actually a troop of mermaids. The water was far from empty. The boy's eyes and mouth went wide.</p><p>"Your family?" he asked the mermaid, remembering that first time where he saved her. The only reason that endeavor had succeeded was because the mermaid's family had also come along, helping set her free while Billy distracted the humans responsible for her kidnap.</p><p>The mermaid nodded in response, smile growing as she watched her fellow merfolk swarm the sea monster. As Billy also continued to train his eyes on the beast, calming down now that he was towards a shallower end of the shore, the outlines of the many mermaids became more visible to him than before. Dozens of wispy people that looked a blue-silver swam all around the monster at lightning speed and it was only the distinct outline of human(ish) torsos that got Billy to realize he was not just looking at empty water. He watched with awe as the mermaids pushed the monster back together, some of them dragging its tentacles back out to sea while others pushed it, poking and prodding its giant body.</p><p>Then at last, the mermaids quite literally turned the tide on the monster, swimming in a synchronized pattern so powerful that they temporarily reversed the natural flow of the waves. With that accomplished, they were able to take on the monster much faster. Although the monster was powerful anywhere, part of the reason it lurked in shallower shores was because it felt more stable and sturdy when it was able to attach to something. But with the mermaids pushing it out into sea, it was quite literally falling into deep trouble.</p><p>Before long, although Billy wasn't able to see it clearly anymore, the mermaids managed to fully and finally overpower the creature, sending it fleeing deeper into the murky waters. Like the turn of the tide, that great roaring beast was suddenly no more. It was gone, having slipped back into the depths from whence it had come, and the stormy ocean became still almost instantly…</p><p>But even though the battle was over, the visitation was not. Instead, for the rest of that evening, Billy and the mermaid stayed together. For a time, it was just the two of them, vaguely communicating their stories as best they could through their language barriers. Billy explained to the mermaid that he was about to go back home until next summer and had come out one last time to say goodbye to the mermaid. She expressed both joy and sorrow over this. Although her previous experience with humans had left her badly shaken, she had been coherent enough to understand that Billy had always been her friend and protector. She had come to this part of the shore again for the same reason Billy had.</p><p>Although she was wary at the thought of ever showing herself to the humans again, the mermaid had also wished to see Billy once more. It was just dumb luck she had managed to catch him before the sea monster could. Billy was both flattered and relieved by these epiphanies. He was glad that the mermaid bore him no ill will, but instead remembered him as a friend and hero. He was also glad she had, once again, managed to turn the tide and save his life from the sea monster.</p><p>"I suppose I owe you another one huh?" he joked, in much better spirits now that the danger was past. But she shook her head with a playful smile. Even though she technically had saved his life twice now, of course she wasn't going to keep score. Instead, she gestured to the boat and to the shore. Billy understood. She would "forgive" him of his debt so long as he promised to come back to visit her next year.</p><p>"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" he smiled at her and she smiled back. Then she pointed to the ocean, to the spot where her family had last been. Another sign that Billy understood at once. She wanted him to meet her family the next time he came around.</p><p>"If they wouldn't mind, I'd be honored to meet them!" he promised enthusiastically and she nodded just as fervently.</p><p>As she was able to pantomime next, the sea monster Billy kept running into was actually something the mermaids had been hunting down for quite a while. It was just as much a threat to mermaids as it was to humans. It was only dumb luck that she and Billy should be hoping to see one another again that the monster should make a second appearance. The beast was quite elusive. And even luckier was that the rest of the mermaid's family happened to be nearby. Though this was partly at their insistence. After nearly losing her to the humans once, they had been very opposed to the idea of her trying to get close to them ever again. But she managed to make a good enough case at least for Billy that they agreed to let her go see him, provided they were allowed to keep a close eye on the situation. It all turned out well in the end because it set up the perfect opportunity for the mermaids to finally take down the sea monster.</p><p>"So I was your shark bait, so to speak?" Billy asked with a nervous laugh as he recalled just how close he'd come to dying (again). What was worse, the monster had technically escaped… But the mermaid patted his arm consolingly and some of his tension fell away at once.</p><p>"I'm fine," he reassured her. "I'm just glad I was able to help you and your family," he said, and she nodded back at him, gratitude sincere. And Billy felt another spark of pride that her family should approve of him. He already felt over the moon to think that she had wanted to come see him again, but to realize that he also sort of had her family's blessing made him feel all the prouder. How often was it a human, let alone a young boy, could claim to be friends with a mermaid and the rest of her family?</p><p>And the family would've been happy to visit, had they not been busy chasing the sea monster. That was the only reason they would not show themselves to Billy now. But as he and the mermaid had promised one another, there would always be next summer.</p><p>"I hate to have to leave you," the boy admitted as his time grew short. She gurgled unhappily with him. "But like the turn of the tide, the seasons will change and I will come back eventually. I promise. I will return year after year after year, so long as we remain friends…" he squeezed her hand in the same affectionate manner she had done to him several times before and her look of longing and loneliness changed back into a smile. She nodded and even though she could not speak English, Billy could still hear her unspoken words as clear as day: <em>Yes, for as long as we are friends, I will be here. And I think that we will be friends for a very long time indeed. Long enough that not even the turn of the tides will change that. </em>And Billy couldn't have agreed more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>AN: This was a Deep Trouble AU requested by someone who wishes to remain anonymous. I hope you enjoy! It's just a little semi-sequel where Billy gets to see the Mermaid one last time.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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